Mayer v. Schleichter
Wisconsin Supreme Court
APPEAL from the Circuit Court for Jefferson County. Action for slander. The complaint charges the defendant with speaking the defamatory words in the German language, which, as translated, were: “You whore! you low whore ! you have enticed Mayer from his first wife by whoring.’’ No special damages were alleged.
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APPEAL from the Circuit Court for Jefferson County. Action for slander. The complaint charges the defendant with speaking the defamatory words in the German language, which, as translated, were: “You whore! you low whore ! you have enticed Mayer from his first wife by whoring.’’ No special damages were alleged. The defendant objected to the introduction of any evidence on the part of the plaintiff, upon the ground that the complaint did not state a cause of action, and the court sustained the objection and dismissed the complaint. The plaintiff appeals. 1. Actionable words are such as impute…
1Opinion of the CourtCole, J.
The defamatory words spoken of the plaintiff— an unmarried woman — were alleged to be the following: “You whore ; you low whore; you have enticed Mayer from his first wife by whoring.” The question is; Are these words actionableyer se ? This is hardly an open question in this’state. In Ranger v. Goodrich, 17 Wis., 78, it was decided that to charge a married woman with being a “ whore ” was actionable, because the words necessarily imputed to the woman adultery, which by our statute is a crime involving moral turpitude and punishable by imprisonment in the state prison or by fine. Mr. Justice…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Beardsley v. BridgmanSupreme Court of Iowa · 1864
- Kelley v. DillonIndiana Supreme Court · 1854
- Ranger v. GoodrichWisconsin Supreme Court · 1863
3Cited by4 opinions
- Hacker v. HeineyWisconsin Supreme Court · 1901
- Geary v. BennettWisconsin Supreme Court · 1881
- Klewin v. BaumanWisconsin Supreme Court · 1881
- M v. JWisconsin Supreme Court · 1916